Clearing The Air
by susanatc
Summary: Set post "The Con Man In The Meth Lab". Booth and Brennan deal with a couple of misunderstandings between themselves.


_This is my follow-up to "The Con Man In The Meth Lab". I know it's been done plenty of times already, but this one got in my head and wouldn't leave me alone, so I caved. I hope you enjoy._

* * *

Booth walked with Brennan to the door of her apartment, having offered to drive her home after the birthday celebration at the pub. Since she was still taking painkillers for her shoulder, she wasn't allowed to drive herself, so she had ridden over with Angela. He didn't mind though, he actually enjoyed spending time with his partner.

It had been a nice evening apart from his conversation with Jared. Even opening up to Brennan about his father's drinking had felt good once he had finally decided to tell her about it. It had been a long time since he'd confided in anyone about that, part of him always afraid that he would one day turn into his father.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected her reaction to be, but her quiet acceptance had surprised him. It shouldn't have though, especially not after her toast. She accepted everything about him. She always had.

When they reached her door, she handed him her keys. "Would you mind?" she asked softly. "The deadbolt sticks a little and it's hard to manipulate with my left hand."

He took the keys with a smile, making a mental note to check the locks for her over the weekend. After unlocking the door, he handed her keys back to her.

"Do you want to come in for some coffee?" she asked him as she turned to face him.

"I should probably go," he replied.

She looked as if she might protest, but then she flashed him a brief smile. "Okay. I guess I'll see you on Monday then."

He started to walk away, but stopped himself and turned back to her. "Bones, I owe you an apology."

"For what?" she asked. "It's okay if you don't want coffee."

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he shook his head. "For what I said earlier. About how you got your dad cleared on murder charges."

"You don't owe me an apology, Booth," she told him. "Especially since you were merely stating the truth."

"I never should have thrown that in your face," he replied. "I'm sorry."

"If anyone should be apologizing here, it's me," she told him. "I hate myself for how I treated you. For believing Jared without ever even talking to you."

"Don't," he said, bringing a finger up to cover her lips. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

Her eyes locked with his and held his gaze for several seconds before she finally smiled under his finger. The transformation lit up her entire face and he soon found himself smiling back at her. "We're okay then?" he asked as he lowered his hand back to his side, trying not to think about how soft her lips were.

She nodded her agreement as she replied, "If you'll come inside for just a minute, I'll give you your birthday present."

"You didn't have to get me anything, Bones," he stated even as he opened the door for her. "The cake was plenty."

"I wanted to," she told him simply as she brushed past him and headed towards her desk.

He closed and locked the door behind her and then turned to follow her across the room. He was surprised to find that she was once again standing beside him, holding out an envelope to him. He took the envelope with a curious look at her, noticing that she suddenly seemed nervous. When he pulled out the contents, he understood her apprehension.

"I know you probably think it's a bit extravagant," she said. "But I know how hard you worked on the Rico case and I think you deserve them." When he just continued to stare at the first class plane tickets to Hawaii, she added, "They're open-ended, so you can use them whenever you want. The same with the hotel reservations."

He finally lifted his eyes to hers and shook his head. "I appreciate it, Bones. Really, I do. But I can't. It's too much."

"No, it's not," she replied. "You deserve it. Please, Booth."

He looked down at the tickets in his hand once more before making a decision. Meeting her gaze once more, he replied, "Okay. But only if you go with me."

Her face showed her surprise and it took a moment before she replied. "Why?"

"Because it's my birthday gift and there's nobody else I would rather share it with than you," he admitted.

"But why?" she asked again.

Instead of answering her, he sat the envelope on the hall table and then took a step closer to her. Locking his eyes on hers, he leaned towards her, leaving no doubt of his intention to kiss her. He moved slowly, giving her time to decide, and when she finally closed her eyes in anticipation, he closed the remaining distance between them.

His lips brushed against hers gently, his hands coming up to the back of her head to anchor her to him. When her lips parted on a sigh, he slid his tongue between them for a quick taste of the flavor that had haunted him for nearly a year now. Not wanting to press his luck, he slowly eased out of the kiss and leaned slightly away from her.

He realized that her left hand had made its way to his shoulder and her right hand had managed to fist part of his shirt in her grasp despite the sling on her arm, preventing him from moving too far away. With a hopeful smile, he gently brushed the hair from her face as he asked, "Do I owe you an apology now?"

She shook her head once, her tongue darting out to lick her lips before she spoke. "I didn't have sex with Jared."

He instinctively tried to take a step away from her. "What?"

Her grip tightened, refusing to let him go. "I thought you should know that."

"And it shouldn't concern me that you were thinking about my brother while kissing me?" he asked.

She smiled then and he felt his heart rate speed up in spite of his confusion. "No, Booth. I wasn't thinking about him while kissing you. I was thinking about you though, when he kissed me. And that's why I didn't have sex with him."

He fought back a smile when he realized that her logic once again made complete sense. "Okay," he finally said. "So does that mean you'll go with me?"

"Only if you get rid of the line we're not supposed to cross first," she replied. "I only booked one suite and I refuse to torture myself knowing that you're that close and still off limits."

"I thought that's what I had just done," he informed her.

"Okay then," she replied with a smile. "So when do you want to go?"

"How long until you're out of the sling?"

"Two weeks," she replied. "Then a couple of weeks of rehab after that."

"Sounds like mid-December it is then."

She let go of him then and stepped away from him. "So do you still want to leave?"

"No," he replied. "I'd love to stay for coffee, but I promised Parker that I would come by tonight."

"Then you should go," she said as she stepped past him to unlock the door.

"How about dinner tomorrow night?" he asked as he turned to face her.

"Pick me up at six," she told him. "And nothing fancy while I'm still in this sling."

"Deal," he agreed. He then leaned down to kiss her again, his lips lingering even longer this time as her fingers found their way into his hair.

When they finally broke for air, she pushed against his chest lightly. "Go, Booth. I refuse to be the reason you break a promise to Parker."

"Okay, I'm going," he said as he picked up the envelope and then opened the door.

He tucked the envelope into his pocket and was almost completely through the door when she grabbed his arm and turned him around for another breath-taking kiss.

"Happy birthday, Booth," she whispered against his lips.

He sighed and forced himself to step away from her. "By far one of the best ever," he said as he slowly backed his way down the hall.

"See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Bones."

"Good night, Booth."

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_Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and I would love to hear from you._


End file.
